Anabaptist Genealogy

Comment

Comment by Stacye Mehard on October 3, 2009 at 9:45pm

Hi! I'm studying the town origins of "Pietist" Johan Georg Rapp and his “Harmony Society” who founded the town of Harmony, Pennsylvania in 1804. The "Harmony Society" left the area of Harmony / Zelionople in 1814, at which time the area was settled by the the Abraham Ziegler branch of Mennonites. I am also researching the Saint Paul German Lutheran Church of Zelionople, PA. My american founding ancestor ~ James Mehard was the carpenter for Saint Paul German Lutheran Church and lived in Harmony during the early 1820's. The Georg Frederick Rapp, the Liebendorfer, and the Mehard families settled the area of Wurtemburg, Pennsylvania in the late 1820's. My family was not German-Lutheran or Mennonite, however I am interested in the history of the two groups because my ancestor (James Mehard & his family) chose to remain a part of the culture. Due to the fact that the records state that the Johann Jakob Liebendörfer, Jr, Family arrived the same year as our family arrived in America (1817 in Philadelphia) I'm wondering if they may have been aboard the same vessel and became friends, sticking together. To date I have not been able to locate a Ships Passenger List for my ancestor and have only the numerous "History of . . . " books to go on stating this. any help, suggestions, or sharing of the history stated above would be great.

Will there be 'chats" in October? Thanks, Stacye

Comment by Michael Helmantoler on September 16, 2009 at 9:20pm

I believe that Brother Anthon Hellenthal of the Ephrata Cloister was my immigrant ancestor from Germany. This week I am reading "Leben und Mandel" an eight volume of Br. Ezechiel Sangmeister published in 1979. I have been with the Palatines to America Group on their Salt Lake Family History Library week. I hope I will remember to join Jims chat on Sunday 7PM Mountian Time.

Comment by Spencer Miller on September 16, 2009 at 6:48pm

Thanks for the reminder Jim !!!

Comment by Jim Avery on September 16, 2009 at 4:34pm

I don't know if you consider Ephrata Cloisters and groups related to them as Anabaptist, but my chat this coming Sunday, the 20th is about them. Chat starts at 9pm eastern (6 Pac,7 MT, 8 Central)

Comment by Spencer Miller on September 11, 2009 at 6:49pm

I don't know who might be interested but I just got a book "History of the Church of the Brethren in Indiana" published in 1952. Its a pretty detailed church by church history, but it also tells of a lot of Mennonite converting to Brethren.

Comment by Kathleen (Sutton) Diaz on July 27, 2009 at 3:35pm

Hello , researching Zimmerman/Carpenter in Pennsylvania(from Canton Berne Switzerland) and on into Ohio, Iowa and Kansas. Name was changed very early to Carpenter.

Comment by Spencer Miller on July 25, 2009 at 7:20am

This has been my both my hardest and easiest line to research. Its been pretty easy because I started of with most of the names and relationship of everyone in the family back about 9 generations (just have to go through and document it all).
Hardest because it seems my Amish/Mennonite line is more of a vine than a tree.
I can get back to one couple 8 different ways!!!

Comment by Karen Hinz on July 22, 2009 at 8:07pm

Hi,

After my father-in-laws death, I realized how little information/memorabilia my husband had regarding his family roots in Oklahoma.

I have so far gathered limited information, but I hope to put together some sort of family tree information for my husband and his siblings for Christmas. Any information regarding the Mennonite HINZ family from Corn County, Oklahoma would be very much appreciated.

Comment by Jennifer Hutmire on July 15, 2009 at 12:19pm

I have added an album for the Blough Mennonite Cemetery in Somerset County, PA to my albums, but am not sure how to get the album to show in this group.